Survey: Utahns satisfied with their courts

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A new survey shows a high number of Utahns are satisfied with the Utah state courts.

Eighty-one percent of respondents ranked Utah's court system at "good to excellent" in a survey commissioned by the Utah Judicial Board this past summer.

In the same survey conducted in 2006, 78 percent of respondents rated the court system as "good to excellent."

Officials with the Judicial Council said in a news release that they commissioned the survey to determine the public's level of trust and confidence in the court system.

"The Judicial Council will use the data to look at how the courts can improve services to the public," said Utah State Court Administrator Dan Becker. "We will concentrate our efforts to improve communication to minority communities and work to minimize the barriers that are keeping the public accessing their courts."

Another key finding the Judicial Council discovered in the survey was a shift in how the public learns about courts. In 2006, 22 percent of participants said they relied on the Internet for information about the courts, compared to 51 percent in 2012.

Survey results also showed that economic barriers  including the cost of hiring an attorney, time away from work and court fees ­ did or would prevent some respondents from going to court.

jmiller@sltrib.com

Twitter: @jm_miller

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